Newslinks for Wednesday 20th February 2019

Growing speculation that one or more Conservative MPs could quit the Party today

‘Sources told The Sun yesterday that talks were taking place between Chuka Umunna, Chris Leslie and a number of Tory backbenchers. And there were growing rumours last night that either Heidi Allen or Sarah Wollaston could announce they are leaving the Tories to join the ‘Independent Group’ as early as today before Prime Minister’s Questions. Neither would comment yesterday. Downing Street is understood to have axed a number of Ministerial speeches this week through fear of upsetting ‘Remainers’ who could quit the party to sit alongside the ‘Independents’. One insider said: “No.10 is on high alert.”..Business Minister Richard Harrington – an ardent Europhile – yesterday said he “perfectly understands” why the Labour ‘Gang of Seven’ left. Challenged whether he could join her said his battle was inside the Conservative Party.’ – The Sun

Ryan becomes eighth Labour MP to join the Independent Group

‘An eighth Labour MP has quit the party to join an independent breakaway group, accusing Jeremy Corbyn of “presiding over a culture of antisemitism and hatred of Israel”. Joan Ryan said that she could not “be part of a party that allows racism to flourish”. In an interview with The Times she said that Mr Corbyn, the Labour leader, had introduced antisemitism to the party and was “a danger”, comparing him to President Trump. Shortly before submitting her formal notice of resignation last night Ms Ryan, 63, who joined Labour in 1983 and was first elected the MP for Enfield North in 1997, said she considered the move to be a duty. “It’s obviously not a delight, it’s painful,” she said. “But it is a duty.”‘ – The Times

Under cover of the Labour split, May is off to Brussels to try to resolve the backstop

‘The Prime Minister will travel to Brussels on Wednesday to meet Jean Claude-Juncker, the President of the European Commission, where she hopes to secure a breakthrough on a new Brexit deal. Downing Street is now concentrating efforts on agreeing a new legal text stating that the backstop, which would tie Britain to a Customs Union with the EU, cannot be “indefinite”. The legal “codicil”, which is being drawn up by Geoffrey Cox, the Attorney General, would impose a time-limit on the customs backstop but stop short of demands by Tory Eurosceptics to scrap it entirely. Last night there was growing speculation that the deal could be signed off by European leaders at an EU-Arab summit in Egypt this weekend, which the Prime Minister is now expected to attend. The Telegraph understands that Mrs May has asked Mr Cox to write to MPs once a deal is secured informing them that he has changed his legal advice on the backstop.’ – Daily Telegraph

She has kept the ERG at bay, just, by holding out hope of Malthouse later on – The Times

Or she has ditched Malthouse entirely, depending on whom you believe – FT

Hunt tells Brussels that Labour’s split shows it cannot be relied upon – The Guardian

Major alleges that ‘extremists’ are taking over the Conservative Party – The Times

Honda boss says plant closure ‘is is not a Brexit-related issue’

‘The move comes amid a fall in demand for diesel cars and tighter emissions rules, with the firm saying the closure is also linked to the need to launch electric vehicles. Honda is also reacting after the EU and Japan struck a trade deal removing car export tariffs for both, meaning there is little need to base manufacturing in the EU. Experts including TV business editors Ed Conway and Simon Jack suggested this was likely to be the biggest factor, or among the biggest factors, in the closure. Some residents in Swindon blamed Brexit for the closure, but Honda Europe senior vice president Ian Howells insisted: ‘This is not a Brexit related issue for us.’ Mr Howells told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning: ‘These other changes which are now coming at us globally we have to now respond to.” – Daily Mail

Javid strips Begum of her British citizenship

‘ISIS bride Shamima Begum has been stripped of her British citizenship after showing no remorse for joining the terror group. An official Home Office letter breaking the shock news was delivered to Begum’s “disappointed” family earlier today…It’s not yet known how the ban will affect her newborn son Jerah – who is half British and half Dutch. The schoolgirl’s family have said they are “disappointed” by the Home Office’s decision, said their lawyer Tasnime Akunjee. “We are considering all legal avenues to challenge this decision,” he tweeted. Begum’s dual nationality – as both her parents are of Bangladeshi – reportedly cleared the way for today’s decision…Robert Halfon, who had spoken out against allowing Shamima to return, said in a tweet that Mr Javid had made “absolutely the right decision”.’ – The Sun

Employment, wages and job vacancies rise again

‘Household spending power has reached a two-year high – as the number of people in work hits a record, official figures revealed. Job figures defied the doom and gloom with average pay rising by 3.4 per cent last year. Crucially wages are growing 1.2 per cent higher than inflation – giving Brits their strongest disposable income since 2017. The number of jobless in the UK fell to 1.36 million – a rate of just 4 per cent and the lowest since 1975. Employment rate hit 75.8 per cent – the joint highest since 1971. Vacancies increased by 16,000 to a record of 870,000.’ – The Sun

Blackwood: To harness the power of AI for healthcare, the NHS needs firm ground rules

‘By 2030 algorithms will be able to detect the early indicators of disease years before patients would even think of going to their GP with symptoms. Drug discovery will have been made radically more efficient and affordable, with artificial intelligence able to catalogue, characterise and compare millions of compounds on a virtual database to help researchers find the best drug candidates for clinical trials… This is the future that’s possible if we get behind this technology now…But to get to that future we first have to lay down some ground rules. Any technology that runs on patient data requires public trust. People have to be confident that their data will be used safely and responsibly, for the public good and not just private gain, that their rights and privacy will never be compromised. We also have to ensure that the only the very best of this technology is supplied to the NHS, able to deliver real, quantifiable benefits to patients and clinicians.’ – Nicola Blackwood, The Times

Sturgeon tells the French Parliament that Westminster ignores Scotland

‘Nicola Sturgeon has told French politicians that Scotland must vote for independence because the UK does not accommodate Scottish views. An independent Scotland would seek to be a “close ally” of other European nations, in contrast to the “isolationism that characterises Brexit” she claimed. The First Minister said if Scotland was to leave the UK “independence would see us recognising and embracing our interdependence with other nations”. She told an audience at the Assemblee Nationale in the French Parliament that the two years since the UK’s vote to leave the European Union had “underlined the importance” of that.’ – The Herald

Maduro rejects US aid as ‘poisoned’ and turns to Moscow for help instead

‘President Maduro accepted 300 tonnes of food and medical supplies from Russia yesterday and dismissed calls by America to let its aid in, as the Venezuelan crisis became the latest battleground for the Cold War adversaries. Mr Maduro, 56, who has consistently dismissed US efforts to deliver aid and claimed that it is poisoned, announced on state television on Monday evening that his government would import aid from Moscow, which he said had been paid for. His opposition rival, Juan Guaidó, 35, who is recognised as the country’s legitimate president by dozens of western nations, is preparing to distribute hundreds of tonnes of US aid this weekend that has been stockpiled on the borders with Colombia and Brazil. President Trump had earlier pleaded with Venezuelan troops to abandon the regime and support Mr Guaidó and allow the much-needed US supplies into the country.’ – The Times

Venezuela on high alert, and claims that Cuba is sending soldiers – Daily Mail

Three-mile drone exclusion zones around airports

‘Transport Secretary Chris Grayling will announce new legislation to extend the ‘no-fly zone’ to ban drones and model aircraft from coming close to runways. Anyone caught doing so faces a sliding scale of sanctions – from fines to life imprisonment if they endanger life. It comes as the Home Office confirms a new Bill will be laid later this year to give police powers to stop and search drone users – and access electronic data stored on the hi-tech devices. The Government is separately preparing to announce a partnership with high street chain Jessops to inform people about the need to “fly their drones safely”.’ – The Sun

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